Youth participation in
changing school food
systems
by Krista Harper (UMass),
Catherine Sands (Fertile
Ground), Diego Angarita
(Nuestras Raíces), Molly
Totman (UMass), and the
members of the Nuestras
Raíces Youth Group
Preview
• Transforming school food systems
• Studying youth participation using Photovoice
• Photovoice in Holyoke, Massachusetts
– Nuestras Raíces youth program
• Participatory visual research and food justice
youth development (FJYD)
• Conclusions
Transforming school food systems
• School meals
– “Commodity-food”
system
– Health resource for
children and youth
• Farm-to-school
– Changing
institutional
procurement
policies
Studying youth participation
• Photovoice research
(Wang 1999)
– Photo = youthgenerated images
– Voice = discussion of
images, captions
– Audience =
presenting research
to wider public,
policymakers
Research Setting
• Holyoke, Massachusetts
– Early industrial city
– 85% of students qualify for
free/reduced school lunch
– 70% of students identify as
Latino
• Nuestras Raíces
– Community development org.
since 1992
– Growing concern about access to
and quality of food in Holyoke
– Urban gardens and La Finca
community farm
– Youth leadership group
Nuestras Raíces Photovoice
• Youth group
– Food justice focus
• Holyoke Food and Fitness
Policy Council
• Farm-to-school
• School lunch quality
• Gaining a voice in decisions
– Photovoice project
• Documenting path of food
from community farm to
students’ plates in school
cafeteria
Step 1: Food is grown at La Finca
© 2010 Nickolas Alger
Step 2: Nuestras Raices Farm Manager
contacts School Chef
© 2010 Dorimar Rivera
Step 3: Food is picked up at farm &
delivered to local warehouse
© 2010 Monica Maitin
Step 4: Food
delivered to
warehouse and
distributed to
Holyoke schools
© 2010 Dorimar Rivera
Step 5: Food is prepared and served
at Holyoke Public Schools
© 2010 Jennifer Gonzalez
Presentation to School Committee
Policy window of
food service contract:
“We care about
healthy food.”
“Students should have a say in decisions
about what we eat at school.”
“When kids have a chance to try healthy
foods, we learn to like them.”
Exhibition and FEEST!
Food Justice Youth Development
• Ginwright and Cammarota’s
“Social Justice Youth Development”
• Using Photovoice to build youth awareness and
outcomes at three levels
– Individual
– Social
– Global
FJYD: Individual level
Youth assert themselves against
boring after-school meetings
with no snacks!
FJYD: Social level
• Analysis of “big P” and
“little p” policies
• Identifying decisionmakers and
stakeholders
• Presenting to Holyoke
School Committee
FJYD: Global level
Connecting school food + labor:
NR youth meet Coalition of
Imokalee Workers (CIW)
Connecting school
food as a “push-out”
factor
Nuestras Raíces Youth Photovoice:
Conclusion
Through Photovoice process, youth
gained:
– research skills
– knowledge of food system; farm-toschool vs “commodity food”
– policy savvy
– representation on School Food Task
Force
– Individual, social, and global awareness
as food justice activists
Thank you!
Contact information:
kharper@anthro.umass.edu
chsands@fertilegroundschools.org
diego.angarita@gmail.com